Fiji

Fiji is a Pacific island country with many communities and rich traditions of dress and body decoration. Women's tattooing, known as veiqia, is one distinctive part of that history.

Some patterns covered the thighs and buttocks, hidden beneath the traditional liku skirt. Their importance did not depend on being constantly visible to strangers. Drawings preserve details that many portraits never show.

Theodor Kleinschmidt recorded examples of these designs before his death in the Bismarck Archipelago in 1881. His work helps reveal the care and skill involved in decorating parts of the body usually covered by clothing.

Abel Tasman's expedition sighted islands in the Fiji group in 1643, and Fiji became a British colony in 1874. Warfare fascinated many visitors, but missionary and colonial changes also affected tattooing. The portraits and patterns show an artistic history beyond the islands' old fearsome reputation.